The Problem Of Obesity And The Requirement For Solutions

Obese- is becoming an “epidemic!” We have 44.3 million people that are either obese or over weight. In 1986, the numbers were at 1 in 2000, and they became 1 in 400 by the year 2000. Even our high school age students are at an all time high of 16% overweight and 10% obese. As that number keeps increasing, future projections for covering healthcare expenditures must figure in the obese-related

Causes of obesity include lifestyle choices such as diets, lack of physical activity, psychological, environmental, genetics, medical conditions, effects of medication, lack of awareness and its implications as well as lack of education in the community. According to Sethi & Vidal-Puig (2007) there is a high risk of developing a wide range of health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, infertility and osteoarthritis when obese and puts

In a way, this book highlights the various consequences of obesity in significant detail. In the author's opinion, obesity does impact on an individual's health negatively from both a surgical and mental

With the advent of urbanisation and the rise in popularity of fast food, there have been accompanying issues with rising obesity rates – especially in developed countries like England and the USA. After providing a careful analysis of why obesity has risen so sharply in these countries, I shall suggest a number of ways in which the obesity epidemic can be ameliorated.

Obesity is being hailed as a global pandemic by academics (Boyd A Swinburn, 2011) and the effects that this has on healthcare systems in the UK is of increasing concern. Not only does obesity cause issues with mobility, it also plays a large part in a multitude of health issues such as diabetes type 2, coronary heart disease, cancer, hypertension, stroke, joint problems and mental health conditions such as depression and low self-esteem. (NHS, 2016) In a report published in 2007 in a journal named Obesity Reviews, it is stated that “The direct cost of overweight and obesity to the NHS is

Additionally, the economic impact of obesity according The Fiscal Times (2014), is that direct medical costs of obesity are approximately $300 billion each year. Other impacts of obesity are conclusive to poor performance at work or the amount of days taken off due to an illness-related condition linked to obesity. Patients are often deterred from resolving

Today nearly 60% of America 's population is overweight, a statistic that 's only growing. More and more children are abandoning traditional forms of exercise for video games, television and other forms of a rapidly expanding simulated reality. Too many Americans today are more concerned with social media and popular culture than what 's going on in their neighborhoods and in the country we all call home. People are losing touch with their own realities. Furthering this argument of a lost touch with reality comes the notion and expectation things come easily and anything requiring hard work or discipline is voided unnecessary, which I believe is a side-effect of technology. The obesity epidemic has drawn considerable attention from policymakers, and while new policy initiatives to address the issue are already underway, new policy initiatives are not enough and are likely going to overlook the simple truth. Technology is a major culprit behind this nation’s obesity epidemic. Cell phones, video games and 600 television channels are making kids gain weight, and there is no easy way to solve the issue, other than to get off your couch, pick up a salad instead of a slice of pizza and get active.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the excessive accumulation of fat that puts the person’s health at risk (Lenzi et al., 2015). The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide over the past three decades. According to Holtz (2016), obese people have outnumbered the undernourished, with the World Health Organization estimating that 1.9 billion adults are overweight, out of which about 600 million are obese. Given the recent trends, it is estimated that 1.12 billion people will be obese by 2030 (Grossschädl, 2014). According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, 2014), the global impact of the obesity epidemic is estimated to be $20 trillion, or 2.8 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP), which is on a par with the global impact from terrorism, armed violence, smoking, and warfare.

The high prevalence of obesity in adults within England is alarming, with national averages of over 40% of males overweight and more than 20% obese in the 16-75 year age range, while in women the averages are lower for the overweight classification but higher for obesity.

According to statistics from the Center of Disease and Control (2013), over 35.7% of Americans are obese. The most obvious of causes for such a huge amount of fat derives from terrible eating habits and lack of physical activity. These issues occur due to the direction of American culture. With America undergoing an era of recession, many people have relied on welfare and lost their sense of hope, which in has led them to being inactive at home. The activities that follow come from another aspect of America’s culture, electronic media. People are less motivated to exercise, when TV and surfing the Internet has been such a bubble of comfort. Organic foods

Obesity is a public health and policy problem. It brings with its numerous health effects. Overweight and obesity are the result of caloric imbalance. Obesity runs in families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits. Some evidence shows that if you are overweight, you are more likely to develop health problems. For example, diabetes, cancer and stroke.

The best way to tackle the problem of obesity is by targeting specific factors in a person’s life.8 These factors can include changes at the personal, environmental and socioeconomic levels.8 The MOVE! program tries to focus on these factors and encourage participants to change their eating habits and add exercise into their daily activities. Focusing on both the food environment, as well as the social environment, may lead to extreme health benefits for the overweight population.9 The aim of the MOVE! program is to encourage Veterans to be successful in long term weight management. Statistics show that approximately twenty percent of people who attempt weight loss are successful in long term weight loss/management if they continue their plan for at least a year, in addition to loosing at least ten percent of their initial weight.10 The objectives put in place while working with the MOVE! program are to not only determine success, but also to provide more outlets in order for participants to meet their long term goals. The objectives that have been set are as follows:

The issue with obesity not only occurs locally but is becoming problematic globally and is continuing to worsen. Being overweight defines a person as having excess fat accumulation which has the potential to cause impairments on personal health if not addressed. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, the costs associated with the obesity epidemic worldwide total over 2 trillion dollars and continues to grow at a staggering rate (Press, 2014). This paper will examine the subject of being overweight, the effect that this has on society, the importance of the living an active lifestyle and will propose a strategic plan in order to combat the issue.

The publication of the Foresight Report in 2007 states that approximately half of the UK population could be obese by 2050 which will cost the British government £50 billion a year (National Obesity Forum 2013). World Health Organisation (WHO) has defined overweight and obesity as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health” (DHSSPS 2011). A person who is obese has an increase risk of developing chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease (NHS 2014b).

Obesity is classified as one of the extremely common and serious public health problems in the world. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading global risks of mortality in the world (World Health Organization, 2009). Furthermore, they are one of the major factors of for a number of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer (World Health Organization, 2005). According to NHS UK, obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more for adults, and the UK 1990 growth reference curves are used to define obesity for Children (Cole TJ, Freeman JV, Preece MA, 1995). The growing challenge of obesity of Europe countries is remarkable among Asian countries .In 2008, 1.4 billion adults (35%) aged 20 and over were overweight and 500 million were obese (11%). More than 40 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2012(World Health Organization, 2014). That is the global obesity situation. Furthermore, the obesity problem in the UK is not optimistic, the UK has the highest obesity rates among Europe countries, and this trend has strikingly increased over the recent years to the point where more than 20% of the population are now obese. (University of Birmingham, 2014) However, the obesity situation in Singapore is more worrisome. In 2010, 40% adults aged 18 to 69 were overweight and 10% were obese which is more than double the level seen in 1992. (Ministry of Health Singapore, 2010) This essay will